Please help us to help you by cancelling a pre-booked appointment when you no longer require it.

In the month of February 111 appointments were wasted amounting to 25 hours of clinical time. 2904 appointments were attended. Thank you for attending your appointment.

Routine Appointments

Routine appointments will be released each morning at 8.00am weekdays for a SAME DAY ROUTINE APPOINTMENT. If you require a routine appointment please call at 8.00am the day you want to see the GP or alternatively book through the Practice Website. There will be limited availability to pre- book routine appointments in advance.

Urgent Appointments

If you have stated that the reason you need to see a GP is for a Clinical Emergency/Something That Needs to be Seen the Same Day please be aware that the following rules apply:

These are all SIT AND WAITappointments, you may not be seen in order of arrival but upon clinical priority, and the length of time you will be required to wait is unknown

You will only be able to discuss the one Emergency Problem

No repeat sick notes will be issued

No repeat prescriptions will be issued

You will not be able to discuss long standing health problems that are not related to your emergency need

Nurse Appointments

Nurse appointments are only bookable 2 weeks in advance in order to try and minimise missed appointments.

Online Appointments

You can now book appointments online. This is for ROUTINE GP appointments only, including SAME DAY ROUTINE GP APPOINTMENTS . Log onto the online system at 8.00am and you will be able to book your appointment with the GP of your choice for the same day. Appointments for medicals, cervical smears, vaccinations and minor operations need to be booked with the receptionist.

Before you book you will need to register to use the online facility. Please contact the Reception staff for your unique secure user ID.

Please be aware the receptionist will ask you the following questions when you are booking a GP Appointment.

Has the problem you are calling about come on in the past few days or is it a long standing problem?

Do you mind me asking what the problem is please?

The reason for these questions is to help the receptionist determine the best possible pathway for your care, for example do you require a 999 ambulance, to see a GP or Nurse that day or later the same week.

In recent months our receptionists have undergone and continue to partake in detailed training provided by outside and internal sources to help them deliver a better quality of service for our patients. They are bound by the same Code of Confidentiality that ALLNHS Employees including GPs have to adhere too, and if this is broken will receive the same formal disciplinary procedures.

The GP Forward Plan Produced by NHS England promoted this change in protocol and The GP Partners at Churchside Medical Practice Dr Vanessa Pearce, Dr Claire Harrison and Dr Wendy Barry are in total agreement with the changes and hope it will result in a better quality of care for our patients.

If you would like more information please contact Sharon Atherton Practice Manager or Shelley Clarke Deputy Practice Manager.

This means if you require a non-emergency, pre-booked, doctors appointment when we are not open you may be able to see a GP at one of the practices listed above. You can book these appointments 4 weeks in advance by contacting the practice you are registered with. Unfortunately these appointments cannot be booked through the online system.

“Extended GP access service is accessible 7 days per week. If you require an appointment on a Saturday or Sunday please enquire with the reception team.”

If so please make sure we have your correct Mobile Telephone Number and we will send you a text message 48 hours before your routine appointment to remind you to attend.

If you no longer require the appointment you will be able to cancel it by simply returning the text message with the word ‘Cancel’.

Alternatively

Download the NHP App to make and cancel appointments, order your repeat prescription and view your medical record.

For more information please contact reception.

Telephone Advice

Patients who require non-urgent advice or who feel that their problem could be dealt with over the telephone are asked to call and leave a contact number before 10:30am for the doctor to return their call after they have finished morning surgery.

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10am if you require a home visit.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Health Centre.

Test Results

Most blood and urine results take about 3 days to come through. X-Ray reports take between 10-14 days to be returned to the surgery. Please telephone after 2.00pm and be prepared to give your address and date of birth. RESULTS WILL NOT BE GIVEN OVER THE TELEPHONE BEFORE 2PM.

Details of abnormal or pregnancy test results will not be given over the phone to ensure confidentiality.

Note that the practice has a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection and we will only release test results to the person to whom they relate unless that person has given prior permission for the release of this data or they are not capable of understanding the results.

When you take your test you will be told how long it will be before the results are returned to the practice.Urine samples will not be accepted after 12pm on a Friday due to the lab being closed over the weekend.

It is your responsibility to check your results and to make an appointment to discuss them with your doctor if your are advised to do so.